After I finished my blog post yesterday, I told you I was going to church. So, at New Hope last night, the sermon was on planet earth. It was about our assignment on planet earth. That planet earth isn’t our home but it is our assignment from God. Heaven is our home.

We need to actually remember that we have an assignment on earth because other wise we will value worldly things more and forget what we are actually here to do.

Mathew 4:19‘And he said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”‘

Mark 1:17‘And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”‘

Why did Jesus say this? I hear you ask. Its because, He is a fisher of man. If we spend time with God then we will also become and this and share the Gospel with the nations. The thing is, everybody is looking for the truth but they don’t know where to find it. They are tired of all the lies. But, people aren’t interested in our religious beliefs. They are just interested about their life on this earth. If we are to be a Christ centered Church then we will be a church that knows our assignment. Heaven is going to be amazing right? we all know that 🙂 we will be mesmerized bu Gods work, we won’t see a non Christian. On this earth we can take people with us there, to heaven, to paradise.

1. A Christ Centered Church connects everything it does to a soul. We are becoming to comfortable on the earth and forgetting why we are here…

John 4:35‘Do not say, ‘There are yet four months , and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.’

What matters most of all is the souls that are being saved. Everything we do is for the sake of souls. God values Christians and non-Christians the same. We are not just here as a gathering of Christians, we are here also to be Gods co-workers. In Heaven, God will ask us, “How many children did you bring home with you?” We won’t have another chance at this life again. Now is the time.

2. A Christ Centered Church never forgets her assignment. You might think God can’t use you. You might think you too young, too old, not good enough, not wise enough. That doesn’t matter. God uses everyone . We have one life to give.

John 20:21‘So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’We are sent people. God has a great plan and purpose for you. He wants us to make the most of every opportunity. To bring them home.

Why are we here? that is the question… We are here to love others. We made the decision to obey God and follow him.

3. A Christ Centered Church chooses to love the people in its community and its calling to reach them. No matter how bad people may seem or how unlovable they may seem, we must love anyway. Harder than it sounds.. but the greatest love is the love of choice.

For example, if you run simply because you love loving, you will run forever. When you love simply for loving people, you will love them forever.

Mathew 20:34‘Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.’

We are here to love. We are here to build people because its people God died for not for things such as our reputations. Jesus was moved by compassion. Miracles are usually prefaced by compassion.

*look at 1 Corinthians 13.*

Love never ever gives up. The love of Christ transforms us. Love doesn’t force itself on itself. We must trust God always. The love of God transforms us to become like Jesus. ‘Its not the magnitude of our actions but the love that we put into them that matters.’If we love, even the small things give us joy.

4. A Christ Centered Church chooses that about everything else. 2 Corinthians 5:14‘For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded thins, that one died for all, therefore all died;’

If the love of God controls us then we won’t be here for us. We will understand that it is our assignment. We always have to know what our assignment is. We have to choose to love the people who God puts around us,. We have to choose to be controlled by Gods love. The Devil will try to tell us lies but we won’t listen to them! In Heaven we will never see a non Christian again, now is our chance to bring others with us, home, to paradise.

Last night at New Hope we talked about Who Is This Jesus? So, lets see if I can make sense here…

Rituals or religion won’t make you know God.
1. Measure Jesus by God’s WORD, not mans.
Knowing Gods word is about knowing who God is.

“Now these (Bereans) were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the Word with much eagerness examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11)

To do this we should have daily devotions and journaling.

It is the process of knowing Jesus and becoming like him. You will become more like him when you sit and reflect on what you read. That is when it changes you. If you reflect , there is no going back. Reflection can change us. Feed yourself with the Word, becoming faithful and teachable to God.

2. Ask Jesus to reveal himself to you.
“If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching whether (or not) it is of God” (John 7:17)
Be sure to keep an open heart. Jesus will reveal himself but you have to ask.
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me, and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and disclose Myself to him” (John 14:21)
Revelation comes only to those who obey.

If you have a closed heart you won’t have that revelation. He will show you who he is. His very being and heart. You will know who Jesus is.
If we keep His commandments, he will reveal Himself. How? reading His word and being obedient.

3. Respond to Jesus.

He calls us to respond but not everybody does. He wants to reveal Himself. Most of us don’t want to because we know we have to commit.
Do we know everything about Jesus? No. But God does. He knows all the unanswered questions. Some we might only know in heaven. The bible tells us everything we NEED to know to be able to live like Jesus. It is all in His word.
God is a Just judge. He has created us in His image and He has created Heaven for us. He didn’t create Hell for humans. Hell is for fallen angels. It is not Gods will for us to go to Hell.

God needs to be accurate and Just. He holds the universe together with his Word. When God tells us how to live its not because He is a party pooper, its because He is precise and He knows what is best for us.

“And answering Jesus they said, ‘We don’t know.’ He also said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things'” (Matt. 21:27)
In other words, “If I cannot be accountable to the truths I already know, why should He reveal to me truths that I don’t yet know?”

God will not respond to you if you choose not to respond to Him. We need to choose to commit to Him. Instead of getting to know Jesus we compare ourselves to people. We need to compare ourselves to Jesus!
In mans eyes, we think our actions are better than others. Then, you will create your own little world. It’s not true.

“But when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding” (2 Cor. 10:12)
To get to know Jesus is our goal.
Jesus takes us how we are, and changes us.
It will help us to understand who God is. We will value people like he does, not look down on them.

“Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2)
If you think your worthless, its a lie. Also, we’re not better than others.
We have to develop our relationship with Jesus and our life should be reflecting Him.
Ask yourself, do you know Him well? or are you comparing yourself to others? Lets avoid that and feed on His word.

Jehovah is different to other names because the others appear less than Jehovah.
The name Jehovah has appeared over 6 and a half thousand times.
Jehovah means Lord. Yahweh means Lord.

Who is Jehovah?
Where does Jehovah operate?
When does Jehovah operate?

The term Lord God has great significance.
Not just Lord but Lord God.
the one who is supreme
The one who is exalted
He is the Lord God almighty.

Jesus is the King of Kings. He has authority over everything.
He is the eternal God.
In heaven we will get to know the one who made us.
Solomon says “Lord you are so great, you over spill the heavens.”
The Lord is the King of Glory.
Every battle He has entered into he has won in a strong and powerful way.
He reins victorious over the enemy.
He is beyond explanation.

In Revelation it says “Hallelujah for the Lord God almighty reigns.”
When Jehovah came in contact with others, others were saved.
This God has an effect on the nations of this world.

Where does he operate?
What is the sphere of His operation? everything that there is comes under His lordship apart from one thing. It covers the heavens. The whole of the heavens comes under his Lordship. Time comes under His Lordship. He is Lord of time.
He is Lord of the animal kingdom. That’s why he could shut the mouth of the lion.
He is the Lord over darkness. he is the light of the world.
He is Lord over the devils work!
This Jehovah is Lord over all that there is. Do you believe that he is Lord over the storms of your life? Jesus Christ is Lord because he comes under Lord ship.

There is one thing where he is not Lord. he is not Lord in your life. He is only Lord of your life by invitation. He has made himself available and wants to be in our lives but does not force himself into our lives. He comes by invitation.

When does He operate?
He is Lord always.
I am means the ever present God. for every person in every nation he is ever present.
He says ” I am the light of the world”, “I am the alpha and the Omega.”
This is my God. he is the Lord over everything.

Romans chapter 10 vs 9
“who ever believes in his heart and confesses with his mouth that Jesus is Lord will be saved.”
We need to confess to the Lord. the situations in our lives we need to confess them because he is Lord of all things and is able to meet us in it.

We always think we’re right but truly It doesn’t matter to us. It matters to Him.

It’s not about one another it’s about what God thinks. In fact, there are none righteous… We are all wrong.

1 john vs 1 chapter 2: Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is righteous in mind, body and spirit. We were brought into this earth unrighteous but with Jesus we are righteous. Everybody new Jesus lived a righteous life even if they didn’t want to believe it. We don’t deserve to be in his presence. Even the religious authorities realized Jesus’s righteousness. They didn’t want to but they did. The authorities wanted to catch Jesus out but Jesus didn’t say anything wrong.

They tried to catch Jesus out with the situation of a woman who committed adultery but again Jesus said the right things.

When the crucifixion came, because they couldn’t find fault they got false prophets. There is no fault in him. He is always holy. Always. This Jesus Holy, righteous. Even in the powers of darkness he was righteous and holy. Jesus Christ of Nazareth the Holy one. The holy one of God. Even the powers of darkness know the righteousness of Jesus.

Jesus rose from the grave because he was always righteous. Jesus was pleased with his boy because he is perfect.

Our minds are merky. If you looked into the mind of Jesus there would not be one blemish. What about words? We have merky words and thoughts too. If you read you wouldn’t find one word out of place. sometimes our judgments are so out of order but Jesus’s judgments are spot on. because he see’s the whole picture.

We shouldn’t live in guilt of the past. His will be The Lord Our Righteousness.

Before accepting Jesus we have guilt and sin. He takes our burden away when we come to the cross to accept him. Then the righteousness of Jesus has come. God wants to save you and because of this he clothes us in garments white as snow.

This morning I was singing at the top of my voice (as you do) when the post man decides to arrive. So slowly I got quite and strolled to the door hoping he wasn’t staring in the window wondering what on earth I was doing. He wasn’t, thank goodness! I saw a letter written with my name on it and thought it was a doctors appointment. But it wasn’t:-) It was a letter from the school saying I have an award for German. How exciting right? yes I know, to every normal teenager they wouldn’t even attend the prize giving but I am excited about this 😀 not many people get them and I’ve never had one. My German teacher is the best!:D
just thought I’d tell you the joys of today haha!

This morning I received an emails from IHOP (international house of prayer) and I thought I’d share it with you.

“What is wrong with grace? The most powerful, significant and liberating message ever given to the human race is the gospel of grace. The Christian life is established on the foundation of this wonderful truth, which emphasizes what Christ did for us on the cross and what the Holy Spirit does in us in our daily life. Paul’s dramatic declaration that we have become new creations in Christ has vast implications for our lives: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away … all things have become new … that we [our spirit] might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:17-21).

The “he” that is a new creation is our spirit man. We possess the very righteousness of God in our spirit (v. 21). This describes our new legal position in Christ—how God sees and relates to us. In Christ, all things have become new pertaining to our spirit. This includes being fully accepted by God, receiving the authority to use the name of Jesus and possessing the indwelling Holy Spirit—all of which enable us to resist sin, sickness and Satan; to walk in victory; and to release the works of God through prayer. The old things that passed away under this legal shift include no longer being under the penalty of sin nor being dominated by the power of sin .

So what’s the problem if we’ve been given such freedom as new creations? Unfortunately, man’s natural tendency to distort truth gets in the way. And when it comes to a truth as fundamental and crucial as grace, that distortion has far-reaching implications. In short, it can become the central crisis of an entire generation.” By Mike Bickle